Two cameras HD and SD (Premiere Pro CS3) at DVinfo.net

Guy Godwin · July 5th, 2009, 08:00 PM

I have a little project I am playing with. This is for me only and was just for learning about this stuff.

I shot a youth baseball game with my XL2 and A1. The other camera man and I did not have a way to talk so we basically started with hand signals and let the camera shoot the entire 60 minute tape length.

I would like to try and tinker around with this and see how hard it is to sinc these up and the create an SD sequence.

Where do I start?
Do I need to scale the 1080i footage to 720 and just import into a project?

or can I just import the 1080 footage into my SD sequence?

...any direction would be greatly appreciated.

Jose Milan · July 6th, 2009, 08:39 AM

Hello Guy,

I've been doing this kind of edits for some time, since I had a HDV camera and an SD (now I had 2 HDV cameras so things are a little easier) form multi-cam projects. There's probably a lot of ways, but the one I use is:

About the size:

I would make a SD (size) sequence/timeline and then put both SD and HD sequences there, as you said in your 2nd option, just use the scale option in motion (under video effects which is default) to scale down your HD to the size of SD.

For sync:

a. Is good to have a clapping noise, such as an slate or hands clapping, but since you don't have this, just look for a high noise in both clips and cut in both videos.

b. In these situations, most of the times, I mainly sync with video image (because I don't have a very precise high noise), so I look for a characteristic thing in the video (like a hand, or body in a peculiar position), so I use this as my reference and then sync. Note that either the sound or video position I'm looking can be anywhere inside the camera cuts, they don't have to be just in the beginning, but most of the times you only need to go a little bit forward.

c. To make sure I did it right, I use the sound of one camera, with the video of the other camera and go trough it to check, than I do the other way around.

d. When done, I recover the parts of videos I need (just using the slide, because Premiere doesn't really cuts the videos but uses pointers), that is if my point of references for sync was in around minutes 5 in the cameras, when done I just slide both clips to the left to get those 5 minutes back and then I start with the real editing.

e. Then I use the sound of the best camera for the final edit.

My 2 cents, hope it helps a little.

Tripp Woelfel · July 6th, 2009, 08:07 PM

If you've read many of my posts, you know that I integrate HDV, AVCHD and SD footage from up to a total of eight cameras into the motorsport videos I do. Guy's right about using a clap to sync on but, depending upon how far you are from each other, there could be a delay caused by the relative slow speed sound travels. Now, you'd have to be quite far apart for this to be a significant problem. If you could get the home plate ump to clap over his head just before he says, "play ball", you'll be good to go for tape one. After that you'll have to get creative.

You are absolutely right in running the tapes without pausing. You're begging a migraine if you stop during any breaks in the action. Two tapes are easy. Eight can cause severe hair loss.

Thomas Smet · July 7th, 2009, 10:00 AM

You could use the crack of the bat to sync both videos. Just as good as a clap and it should be plenty loud enough. I usually use photo camera flashes or strobe lights for sync but of course this usually only works for indoor events.

July 5th, 2009, 08:00 PM	#1
Guy Godwin Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Florence, KY Posts: 345	Two cameras HD and SD (Premiere Pro CS3) I have a little project I am playing with. This is for me only and was just for learning about this stuff. I shot a youth baseball game with my XL2 and A1. The other camera man and I did not have a way to talk so we basically started with hand signals and let the camera shoot the entire 60 minute tape length. I would like to try and tinker around with this and see how hard it is to sinc these up and the create an SD sequence. Where do I start? Do I need to scale the 1080i footage to 720 and just import into a project? or can I just import the 1080 footage into my SD sequence? ...any direction would be greatly appreciated.

July 6th, 2009, 08:39 AM	#2
Jose Milan Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Spain Posts: 185	Hello Guy, I've been doing this kind of edits for some time, since I had a HDV camera and an SD (now I had 2 HDV cameras so things are a little easier) form multi-cam projects. There's probably a lot of ways, but the one I use is: About the size: I would make a SD (size) sequence/timeline and then put both SD and HD sequences there, as you said in your 2nd option, just use the scale option in motion (under video effects which is default) to scale down your HD to the size of SD. For sync: a. Is good to have a clapping noise, such as an slate or hands clapping, but since you don't have this, just look for a high noise in both clips and cut in both videos. b. In these situations, most of the times, I mainly sync with video image (because I don't have a very precise high noise), so I look for a characteristic thing in the video (like a hand, or body in a peculiar position), so I use this as my reference and then sync. Note that either the sound or video position I'm looking can be anywhere inside the camera cuts, they don't have to be just in the beginning, but most of the times you only need to go a little bit forward. c. To make sure I did it right, I use the sound of one camera, with the video of the other camera and go trough it to check, than I do the other way around. d. When done, I recover the parts of videos I need (just using the slide, because Premiere doesn't really cuts the videos but uses pointers), that is if my point of references for sync was in around minutes 5 in the cameras, when done I just slide both clips to the left to get those 5 minutes back and then I start with the real editing. e. Then I use the sound of the best camera for the final edit. My 2 cents, hope it helps a little.

July 6th, 2009, 08:07 PM	#3
Tripp Woelfel Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North Conway, NH Posts: 1,745	If you've read many of my posts, you know that I integrate HDV, AVCHD and SD footage from up to a total of eight cameras into the motorsport videos I do. Guy's right about using a clap to sync on but, depending upon how far you are from each other, there could be a delay caused by the relative slow speed sound travels. Now, you'd have to be quite far apart for this to be a significant problem. If you could get the home plate ump to clap over his head just before he says, "play ball", you'll be good to go for tape one. After that you'll have to get creative. You are absolutely right in running the tapes without pausing. You're begging a migraine if you stop during any breaks in the action. Two tapes are easy. Eight can cause severe hair loss.

July 7th, 2009, 10:00 AM	#4
Thomas Smet Trustee Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Milwaukee, WI Posts: 1,719	You could use the crack of the bat to sync both videos. Just as good as a clap and it should be plenty loud enough. I usually use photo camera flashes or strobe lights for sync but of course this usually only works for indoor events.